


Stray Word

by beloved_key



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Allura and Coran appear briefly, Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Langst, Team as Family, no one dies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-05
Updated: 2018-12-05
Packaged: 2019-09-12 01:17:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16863526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beloved_key/pseuds/beloved_key
Summary: Lance was rapidly regretting his decision to engage Slav in conversation.





	Stray Word

Lance was rapidly regretting his decision to engage Slav in conversation.

Okay, so the guy had rubbed him the wrong way when they’d first met at Beta Traz, but it was all understandable. Making the mission harder? The guy had been imprisoned and tortured for who-knows-how-long, with who-knows-how-many escape attempts, a little doubt and paranoia is understandable, and he came through in the end. What appeared to be an alien equivalent of OCD? No telling if it was Slav-specific or just a trait of his species, as Lance was hardly a psychiatrist, but in all likelihood, Slav couldn’t help it, especially not in the midst of a highly stressful situation. Crawling all over the Blue Lion’s dashboard while Lance was trying to pilot? That one was… Okay, it was irritating and rude, but Lance tried to remind himself how Pidge got when she saw any new tech; she just HAD to get her hands all over it. If Lance could put up with Pidge’s pushy brand of curiosity, he could cut Slav a little slack.

Plus, Lance felt a little bad about how touchy Shiro was with Slav. Again, it was understandable; just as Slav couldn’t really help his stress response, Shiro couldn’t really help his impatience when his friends were in danger, not to mention the fact that he was infiltrating a Galra prison at the time, himself being a Galra prison escapee. The fact that they’d gotten off permanently on the wrong foot was unfortunate, however, and Lance, being the personable guy he was, wanted to at least get familiar with Slav, if he was going to be hanging around for the foreseeable future.

So, having nothing better to do, Lance tracked down Slav where he was working on the Castle’s sensor systems, and started talking. He didn’t keep talking for long, though.

Lance was zoning in and out--he didn’t mind infodumping, really, he just liked to have at least some concept of what he was hearing--but he zoned back in at Slav’s next statement.

“--so, of course, one can extrapolate possibilities for various events based on things like behavior, personality, probability, quantum mechanics, I could go on and on--”

“Could you give me some examples?” Lance asked, relieved at the chance to bring the conversation back to a plane he could understand. Far from being miffed at the interruption, Slav’s eyes lit up at Lance’s interest.

“Well, of course I can! I wouldn’t be much of an expert in quantum realities if I couldn’t give examples, now would I?” He puffed his chest out a little, and a smile pulled at Lance’s lips despite himself. Slav could be a bit of a pain, but he could also be endearing, under the right circumstances. It was the same way Lance had finally connected with the socially-distant Pidge back at the Garrison, or begun his friendship with Hunk during basic training; engage the genius on their playing field. Ask about their particular variety of genius-ness.

Meanwhile, Slav was continuing. “--applicable to smaller, less significant instances, obviously, but things get really interesting when you apply the equations to something of larger consequence. You Paladins, for example!” Slav seemed proud to have successfully brought the topic back around to Lance, who nodded encouragingly. “Why, small things like whether you, for instance, decide to shoot this soldier or another could be the determining factor between another Paladin living or dying!”

Lance paled slightly, forcing a smile. “Haha, what?”

“Well, it’s true!” Slav mistook Lance’s discomfort for further interest. “There are even realities in which a simple miscalculation on your part results in the death of three, even all four, other Paladins!”

Lance could no longer force a smile, but Slav still failed to notice, lost in thoughts on quantum realities. “And that’s just the surface of battlefield consequences! A practical joke during training gone wrong? Boom! Down a Red Paladin. An argument taken slightly too far? Zing! Not enough group cohesion to form Voltron. Why, in some realities--not too many, but still--you even turn traitor, singlehandedly giving Voltron up to Zarkon’s forces. Really makes you appreciate the lucky reality we seemed to have landed ourselves in, eh? Can’t help but think that probability won’t continue to be in our favor for long--Lance?”

Lance’s hands were shaking, and he suddenly shot to his feet, jumping as a tool he’d accidentally knocked aside went clattering across the room. “I-I-I gotta go.” He stammered through hyperventilating breaths, half-running, half-staggering out, leaving Slav behind.

Slav watched the Blue Paladin go, frowning first in confusion, then widening his eyes in horror.

“Oh, no.” He whimpered. “I knew our luck couldn’t hold out forever.”

\---

“I’ve made a terrible mistake!!!”

Shiro yelped as a weight fell onto his back. Before he could do more than shoot up out of his chair, the weight scrambled around to his front, holding his shirt in a vicegrip and staring at him from inches away. The other paladins--Hunk, Pidge, and Keith, Lance hadn’t made his way to the lounge yet--stood up as well, but relaxed when they saw it was only Slav.

Shiro felt an immediate surge of irritation--if he hadn’t tamped down on his reflexes in time, Shiro could’ve sliced Slav in two--but Slav didn’t seem to notice; he was too preoccupied.

“I’ve set us on the path to destruction! This is exactly the sort of event that leads to disaster, within a 2.184302--”

“Slav.” Shiro growled. Slav caught himself.

“--a very small margin of error!” He finished, gripping Shiro’s ears now. Firmly, Shiro picked Slav up and set him on the ground.

“What happened?” Hunk piped up, and Slav whirled about to face him.

“I have upset the Blue Paladin! In irreparable manner!” He wailed, whiskers quivering in fear as his various hands fiddled with one another.

“Aw, Lance?” Hunk asked, trying for a reassuring smile. “Hey, he can get a bit dramatic sometimes, but don’t worry, he’s a real forgiving, understanding guy in the end, I’m sure once everything calms down--”

“You do not understand!” Slav flung himself onto Hunk now. “I have appealed to Lance’s insecurity! I have told him of failed realities, and thus, opened the gateway for even more failed realities! He asked me to explain, but I took it too far, and now--”

“Slav, I don’t know what you said to Lance, but he’ll be fine--” Shiro cut in, voice tight with barely-checked annoyance.

“Please listen to me!” Slav cried, just as Coran and Allura walked in, attracted by all the noise. “The realities that could follow this one are horrific! There are instances in which the Blue Paladin sacrifices himself unnecessarily! There are even realities in which Lance takes his own life!!!”

That last statement sent a chill across the room. Keith took a threatening step towards Slav, Pidge just stared in shock, and Hunk and Shiro locked eyes.

Shiro glanced back at Coran and Allura. “We’ll go find Lance. Stay here with him.” Hunk put Slav down on one of the couches, grabbed Keith before he could go for his knife, and gently prompted Pidge to follow Shiro out of the lounge. Coran, meanwhile, merely fixed Slav with a look.

“You could’ve mentioned that this consequence wouldn’t be immediate, but rather, several years on.”

Slav sweat nervously. “Y-You mean I didn’t mention that?”

\---

Lance was still trying to force his shaking hands to hold still when he heard people yelling his name from outside the vacant room he’d taken refuge in.

“Lance!”

“Lance, where are you?”

“C’mon, buddy, we need you to come out!”

“Where the hell are you?!?”

Surprised that the others were looking for him--and worried that Hunk sounded on the verge of tears--Lance wiped his eyes clear, clenched his hands into fists, and poked his head out the door.

“Hey!” He called after the other Paladins’ retreating backs, wincing at how raspy his voice sounded. They froze and turned around, while Lance cleared his throat. “I’m right here.”

He didn’t have a chance to offer any sort of explanation; Hunk football-tackled him back into the vacant bedroom and onto the bed, blubbering and crushing him in a hug while Lance struggled to breathe.

“Let him up, Hunk.” Shiro’s voice was teasing, but held a certain shakiness that worried Lance. Drawing in a deep breath (now that his lungs weren’t being compressed) Lance stood, then glanced around at the other Paladins, who had crowded into the room.

“Uh… So, did I miss something, or…?”

Keith scowled. “Slav told us what happened.”

Lance winced. “Oh, yeah. I-I’m good, really, he just said some… Unexpected stuff, for a casual conversation.”

“Lance.” Shiro’s voice cut through the others’ protests, silencing them. Lance glanced up, reluctant to make eye contact. “Are you okay?”

Being asked directly like that--by one of the friends he could, supposedly, so easily fail--broke Lance’s fragile control. Tears spilled fresh over his cheeks, and he collapsed back down onto the bed. Pidge rushed to join Hunk in hugging Lance, allowing Shiro and Keith more room. Shiro knelt down in front of Lance, and Keith stood closeby, fists clenching and unclenching in frustration at not knowing what to do.

“W-We were just talking, and he was explaining his alternate reality stuff, so I-I-I asked for examples.” Lance explained through hitching breaths, trying to control his shuddering voice. He looked down into his hands, still shaking in his lap. “And h-he used us as an example a-a-and just… Talked about d-different possible realities w-where I screw up and get you all k-k…”

Lance’s voice failed him, but the others knew what he’d been about to say anyway. Lance took a deep breath and continued.

“A-and I just couldn’t stop th-thinking… I mean, you’re all freaking geniuses!” He burst out, gesturing around at the other four. “Hunk’s an engineering madman, Pidge can figure anything out if she’s given five minutes and a computer, Keith never even has to think about performing complicated maneuvers, and Shiro’s an amazing leader and tactician. And that’s just you guys! I mean, I doubt there’s a thing in the universe Coran doesn’t know something about, Allura’s a powerful, smart, decisive princess and I’m just…” He buried his face in his shaking hands. “I-I’m just this normal guy, who tries really hard but still can’t catch up, and always seems to get thrown in with a bunch of important, amazing people anyway, and I don’t know why. Slav’s right, if anyone’s going to get us all killed, it’s the weak link. It’s me.”

Everyone else was speechless, and Lance sniffled. “A-all I want to do is keep my friends safe, but… H-how am I supposed to protect you when I’m the one putting you in danger?”

Lance felt a hand cup under his chin and gently push his gaze upwards. Shiro’s eyes met his, and Lance swallowed at the serious look on his face.

“Lance, listen to me.” He stated firmly. “You are not a weak link. You are not inferior to any of us. We are equals. We all have strengths, and we all have weaknesses. I can say with complete confidence that if you were gone, this team would fall apart, and no one, not Allura or me, no one, could stop it.”

“Wh-what?”

“Shiro’s right, Lance.” Hunk put in, pulling Lance up against him in a (more gentle) hug. “You know how scared I get. Before I met you, I couldn’t work up the nerve to do anything even slightly intimidating. I never would’ve made it in the Garrison without you, and if you weren’t here, egging me on, I don’t know if I’d be able to work up the nerve to keep fighting as a Paladin anymore.”

“I… Know we don’t always get along.” Keith grumbled, glancing away. “But I have to say, no one’s as good as you at getting me to listen when you say my plan’s going to end horribly. And if anything happened to you, I’d kill everyone in this room, and then myself.”

Lance smiled slightly. “You know Brooklyn 99, but not basic cheerleading chants?”

Keith shrugged, blushing. “I was homeschooled.”

“Besides, Lance, you can’t take what Slav said seriously.” Pidge added. “He probably has thousands of scenarios where we all die, and it’s one of our faults. He just pointed you out because you were there.”

Shiro winced at Pidge’s… Candid, statement, but Lance appreciated the gesture, reaching out to yank the Green Paladin into his and Hunk’s hug.

“You’re important to this team, Lance, just as much as any of us.” Shiro finished, reaching out to rest a hand on the younger Paladin’s shoulder. “You know that.”

Lance sighed, looking down. “Yeah, I know. I just… I get thinking, sometimes, and I can’t stop.”

“I know the feeling.” Shiro said sympathetically. “But the next time it happens, just come to us, okay? We’re a team. We’re a family. We look out for each other.”

Even Keith had drawn close by then, all of them gathered into the small bedroom around Lance, just basking in the feeling of not being alone. Eventually, though, Lance felt the need to break the tension.

“Who wants to take bets on how long it’ll take Shiro to kill Slav?”

The raucous outburst that followed--Shiro’s indignation, Pidge and Hunk’s debating, Keith’s groans at this being stupid--brought a smile to Lance’s face. They were going to be fine, in the end. He had to believe that.

He’d make sure they were all fine in the end. They were family, after all.

**Author's Note:**

> A bit of langst for y'all! Thanks for reading, feel free to comment/kudos, love you!


End file.
